Another shameless network is exploiting the NBA’s worst

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As Homer Simpson shouted when stuck in the bottom of a deep hole, “Dig up!” Throughout his NBA career, 1997-2014, Stephen Jackson was a load to endure. Fines, suspensions, criminal recklessness in a strip-club hassle, Twitter-issued physical threats. He played a leading role, and not as a peacemaker, in that infamous brawl with fans during …

As Homer Simpson shouted when stuck in the bottom of a deep hole, “Dig up!”

Throughout his NBA career, 1997-2014, Stephen Jackson was a load to endure. Fines, suspensions, criminal recklessness in a strip-club hassle, Twitter-issued physical threats.

He played a leading role, and not as a peacemaker, in that infamous brawl with fans during a Pacers-Pistons game in 2004. Small wonder he played for nine NBA teams.

But Matt Barnes, a college man — UCLA — who played in the NBA for 12 different teams from 2004-17, was worse. Arrests, fines suspensions, hollered on-court vulgarities, an ugly public love triangle hassle with Knicks coach Derek Fisher, he was the modern Bad News Barnes, among the most uncivilized acts in NBA history.

During a playoff game, Barnes actually swapped nasty words with James Harden’s mother — but claimed she started it.

Thus, the Showtime network probably thought it was an act of pure, new-age cable TV genius when it decided to pair Jackson and Barnes in a weekly talk show, “All the Smoke,” on Showtime’s YouTube channel. Based on content, however, it should have been titled “All the Mother-f—ers.”

Yep, another network rewarding the worst for having done their best to wreck the sport they played.

Based on a list of shows, “All the Smoke” only invites black men and women to appear — ballplayers, rappers, including the ubiquitous dumpster-dweller Snoop Dogg, and sportscasters, including ESPN dialect chameleon Stephen A. Smith. Many of those guests seemed more than pleased to join the hosts in advancing or least perpetuating every damning stereotype about African-America’s self-enslaving values.

Last week, as if to prove that their discretion and sense of right from wrong are worthless if not worse, their special guest was Adam “Pacman” Jones, still synonymous with everything that lays the NFL low.

Jones was treated like royalty. Despite repeatedly betraying his teams’ winning goals with me-first flags, fines and suspensions — a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty cost his Bengals a playoff win — and an episode in which one of his “crew” left a Las Vegas strip-club bouncer shot and paralyzed for life — Jones professed to love Cincinnati and its fans.

Almost as much he loves pot, which he said he smoked “before every game.”

Among Jones’ more infamous on-field highlights-package moments was the 2015 episode in which he tore the helmet off receiver Amari Cooper, then slammed his opponent’s unguarded head into the ground.

Roger Goodell and the NFLPA might have — should have — done their most to finally ban Jones from the NFL, ending his inclination to physically imperil players and the sport, but instead he was fined $35,000.

“All the Smoke,” launched in October, was described by Showtime senior VP of sports Brian Daily as a show steeped in goodness: “Both men are eager to break down tough topics and engage in unfiltered conversations and intelligent debate with listening and empathy at the core, a novel approach in this era.”

What a load. Yes, “unfiltered” as in excessively vulgar. It’s not a “novel approach,” it’s just the latest in sports exploited to further desensitize its fans — good is bad, worse is better. How can a show predicated on bottom-feeding be classified as “intelligent”? Or are we relied upon to be that stupid?

And the show strikes me as racist in that we apparently can’t expect better from two 40-year-old black men.

Finally, it’s another declaration of cable-delivered programming not adhering to even minimal social standards, but instead doing — getting away with — anything it can, this one using sports as a mere prop to go lower.

But again, you can’t shame the shameless.

Teams, TV providers face refund nightmare

Readers continue to ask about refunds for tickets to un-played games, and cable and satellite refunds for networks that continue to charge for undelivered live sports.

Reminds me of a scene in the low-budget 1979 classic “Breaking Away,” about the annual Little Indy bike race at Indiana University.

Character actor Paul Dooley played the unscrupulous owner of a local used car dealership. One day — when he left his lovesick, altruistic son in charge of the lot — the son issued a refund to an IU student who had to push his just-purchased clunker back to the lot.

The camera then quickly cut to a shot of Dooley awakening from a sweaty nightmare, suddenly sitting up in bed and incredulously hollering, “Refund?! Refund?!”

Virus Misc: If worrying about for whom Odell Beckham Jr. might next play is supposed to take our minds off the pandemic, I’ll worry about the pandemic.

How do we know the “curve” might be “flattening”? Well, a week has passed without some hallucinating shut-in media member publicly suggesting the Knicks should bring back Carmelo Anthony.

While self-quarantining, Post assistant sports editor Dave Blezow spotted ESPN’s coverage of the 1997 National Spelling Bee. “I’m yelling at the screen because the announcers are talking meaningless drivel over the word definitions and even some spellings — 23 years ago!” Consistency is the mark of greatness!

Reader Mike Caputo: “I just looked at the listings for tonight and saw that MSG is showing something called, ‘Knicks’ Greatest.’ I imagine it will appear in black and white.”

I wonder how many shut-ins have or are going broke credit card-gambling via Online casinos. Throw a little extra booze into the mix, double the bet and try to get even!

If I survive this thing and the day arrives when the all-clear is sounded — restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys, pizza joints all reopened for business — I plan to turn to my wife and say, “Ya know, why don’t we stay in tonight?”

Feeling sad for Philly

Rough last week for Eagles fans, losing three yesteryear notables — kicker Tom Dempsey, halfback Timmy Brown and No. 44, tight end and later Eagles GM Pete Retzlaff.

Reader Charley Midgley from Las Vegas: “Not in a million years would I buy Derek Jeter’s replica bronze paint-dipped glove. But I’d buy Dick Stuart’s iron one in a heartbeat!” No comprende? Google Dick Stuart, “The Man With the Iron Glove.”

Reader Bob Ward, Monroe, N.J.: “ESPN has confirmed that Mike Francesa’s electricity has been restored.”